TAMIL
Making of a leader
T. RAMAKRISHNAN
AAM; NAMMAL MUDIYUM! (Yes; We Can!): Vaiko; Vikatan Publications, 757, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002. Rs. 120.
VAIKO, A seasoned political leader and general secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), is known for quoting, in his speeches, instances from world history to drive home his point.
It is no surprise that he has come out with a Tamil book on the President-elect of the U.S., Barack Obama. In his own way, he has provided a historical perspective of the significance of the emergence of a leader from a background as Obama’s.
What is noteworthy is that he published the book well before the presidential election results were out. In fact, the work is the outcome of a series of articles that he wrote earlier.
The book is not just about Obama but also about the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. in the 1960s. Vaiko has also forcefully narrated stories of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Irving Wallace’s The Man.
Though the book is replete with historical events, the author has successfully blended them with contemporary events.
The MDMK leader has also recounted his meeting with Obama at Chicago in July. He has a strong bias in favour of Obama and the book is no objective work on the American leader.
But, what is special about the book is that the author has done well in highlighting certain aspects of American life and history, which are largely unknown to a substantial section of Tamil readers.
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